


I'm Still Yours

by ArgisTheBulwark



Category: Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim
Genre: Cheating Fic, Companions Questline (Elder Scrolls), Don't copy to another site, F/M, I don't usually read/write cheating fics but i care about brynjolf a lot, Porn With Plot, Porn with Feelings, Thieves Guild (Elder Scrolls) - Freeform, Vaginal Sex, do not copy to another site
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-05-19
Updated: 2020-05-19
Packaged: 2021-03-03 01:00:56
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,450
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24276271
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ArgisTheBulwark/pseuds/ArgisTheBulwark
Summary: Beginning her training with the Companions, the Dovahkiin unfortunately gives her fellow thieves the impression that she is abandoning them, leaving one already moody redhead with something new to brood over. After creating a life as the Thane of Whiterun, an upstanding citizen and engaged to Athis, Elyse finds herself yearning for her former life of crime.Takes place after the completion of the Thieves Guild questline, no major questline spoilers involved.
Relationships: Background Female Dovahkiin | Dragonborn/Athis, Brynjolf/Female Dovahkiin | Dragonborn, Brynjolf/Female Dunmer Dovahkiin | Dragonborn
Kudos: 13





	I'm Still Yours

**Author's Note:**

> i wrote this in 2017 when i was horny for brynjolf. i've edited it and am now posting in 2020 because i'm still horny for brynjolf.  
> i don't condone cheating on a significant other in any way, just thought this would make for an interesting story as i'm replaying these questlines for the billionth time.  
> i don't own brynjolf, delvin, athis, the ragged flagon, whiterun, riften, skyrim, or any of the other characters/places used, nor do i claim to own them. all credit goes to bethesda.  
> also i know there isn't a storage closet across the hall from the guild master's chambers, i just needed it for story purposes.

Everyone’s voices ring through my head at once and it feels like I’m spinning. Kodlak is dead, but we found a cure for his lycanthropy, but he’s already passed on, but we need to go try to cure his spirit and I just need everyone to _stop._ Retreating to Breezehome doesn’t do any good, Vilkas and Farkas have keys and know that they can still pester me there.  
Anywhere I go within Whiterun they know who I am; I am Elyse, Thane of Whiterun, personal friend of Jarl Balgruuf, betrothed to Athis, and freshly appointed Harbinger of the Companions. I’m a good person in Whiterun, someone that the kids that run by on the street look up to and the guards tip their heads at. In Whiterun I’m almost a golden knight, someone who swoops in and solves problems without even being asked and goes home to flirt with the same man every night, I’ve become predictable. I like who I am in Whiterun, I do, but sometimes it’s too much.  
I flashed Aela a quick wave before retreating into the shadows, making my way quickly down into the Plains District and into my own home. There was no need to sneak, the guards all knew who I was and only needed occasional reminders that Thanes were above the law, but my muscles were tight with anticipation. My heart was pounding at the thought of them finding my quarters empty and chest full, hoping that the hurried note I’d tossed over my shoulder would keep them from following after me.  
After spending so many months cleaning up the Companions, running errands for them and clearing out coves of horrible creatures to retrieve artifacts thought to be long lost, the guilt was eating me alive. As soon as I returned home I dumped everything into my chest, emptying my pockets of every last septim and storing them away into a drawer in my bedside table. I wasn’t going to need my own money where I was going when the coffers of everyone else would be ripe for the picking.  
With a grin I dug down into the bottom of the truck, fingers easily finding the soft leather that I’d hidden away long ago. With a flourish I shook out all the dust, my body alight with the thought of disappearing on the Companions, if only for just one night. Jorrvaskr wasn’t going to burn down after one night without me, and I repeated that thought to myself as I threw my steel armor carelessly aside.  
Sliding into my dark brown leathers felt like putting my own skin on once again, as if I was a serpent who had lost its way. I tucked the hood over my face and tossed my empty pack onto the bed, hoping that Lydia would get the clue that I was safe and not alert the Whiterun guards that the Thane was gone without a trace. It felt like I was becoming another person, nothing more than a shadow leaving behind the Elyse that helped a little boy stop getting bullied or had a soft spot for Farkas. I was nothing as I slipped back into the night, little more than a shadow and a whisper on the wind.  
Mind wandering, it landed once more on my shield brothers and sisters. I crouched down, waiting for a pack of wolves to pass far enough for me to continue on and I felt the bump of Athis’s ring against my chest, held in place by a thin chain. He’d been so nervous when he proposed to me, back when I was just a whelp among the Companions, but I’d accepted. What else was I to do when the only Dunmer man I’d ever met had decided he wanted me? He was kind, always so thoughtful of my feelings and letting me know that he’d care for me regardless of my rank, but I’d been putting off the official ceremony.  
The thought of being married terrified me, even the feel of his ring was making my anxiety rise. He’d been disappointed when I didn’t wear the ring on my finger but I explained that an archer can’t have any extra weight on their hands, lest it throw off my aim. He’d accepted it so easily, never challenging me or arguing, it was too easy. He had simply nodded when I explained that I was part of the Guild, not even asking any questions as I told him that I wasn’t going to give the Companions all of myself.  
My journey home had never felt shorter than that specific one. The roads didn’t seem as harsh nor did the wolves come as often, it was as if the Eight were welcoming me back before I’d even arrived, as if my entire journey was easy simply because it was so right. Nothing was as formidable as I thought it would be and the farther I got from Whiterun, the freer I felt. I could feel the wind running through my hair when I let my hood down and it felt so wonderful that I never wanted to go back to the confines of that blasted city. I knew that they needed me and soon the guilt would become too much, but for just a few days I needed all of the appointments and errands and emergencies to just stop.  
“Visitor’s tax?” I heard the familiar words float up at me through a haze and realized where my feet had carried me. I smirked, walking past the young guard, not even bothering to be the good samaritan I’d been in Whiterun.  
“I don’t pay visitor’s tax.”  
The guards opened the gates, the rough wood pulling back under my fingertips and the whole city opened up, just for me. Mjoll reentered her home and I dropped the sneakiness I’d adopted on my entire journey, instead strolling through town. I no longer had to duck into buildings and hope that the owner was someone I’d already completed a job for in order to avoid adding yet another to my list. I pulled my hood up, nodding lazily at Keerava as she glared me down, making a show of locking up the Inn from the outside.  
“Evening, Keerava! How’s Talen-Jei?” I waved to her, letting my voice float likely a little too loudly but I didn’t care. No one, not even the Black-Briars were going to ask anything of me in that town and I loved it. I loved the sound of conversations coming to a halt as I walked by and I loved the way that I could hear the scuffling of thieves in training from the shadows beside me.  
Pressing the button on the coffin excitement ran through me. My nose was still filled with fresh fish, honey, and the invading undercurrent of gold, somehow both reeking and smelling so perfect to me at once. The scraping of the coffin brought a chuckle bubbling up to my lips as I remembered the note Anuriel left in the Temple of Mara, ever so politely asking them to stop whatever rituals they were doing involving scraping stones because of all the noise.  
Anxiety invaded my body as I descended the ladder, unsure what was awaiting me. It’d been at least six months since I’d last been in the Cistern, communicating with Delvin only by letters, and wasn’t sure what I could be walking into. His notes were usually half finished thoughts reassuring me that everything was fine and the Guild’s chests were still overflowing, but I had to go home.  
“Hey! Good to see you.” Rune’s gentle voice was the first to meet my ears and I didn’t bother to hide the grin on my face. He’d always been so kind, leaving me with a passing compliment in his gentle voice as he walked away, disappearing somewhere deeper in the Cistern. Cynric raised his hand in a small wave which I returned, my anxiety swelling with each step. Sapphire ignored me, but that was nothing new - she’d disliked me from the moment she saw me.  
“You’re back, Guild Master.”  
Karliah’s whisper of a voice floated out to me from the shadows and I couldn’t keep myself from wrapping her into a hug. She rasped out a laugh against my shoulder and I knew she was uncomfortable but didn’t care. She had easily become my sister, slipping in and filling the necessary role I hadn’t known had existed in my life before I met her. She was my confidant, the one person who knew every thought I had in my head and understood the struggles of being a Dumner woman in a Nord man’s world.  
“Of course I’m back.”  
I felt her hand on my shoulder, clearly guiding me toward the Flagon despite her seemingly nonchalant movements. My stomach did flips at the thought of facing those higher up in the Guild, Vex and Delvin who had been my bosses I’d quickly surpassed. I’d helped the Guild back onto its feet and abandoned it as soon as I’d met Farkas, Vilkas, and Aela who’d talked me into joining the Companions.  
“You’re back.” Delvin’s smile was as crooked as I’d remembered and I swore, in that moment I couldn’t have possibly been happier. I spent that night sitting at a table with Karliah and Delvin, drinking and laughing about all of the stories he hadn’t had the time to write down and send to me. I kept quiet, hand drifting up to my chest to constantly make sure that the ring was tucked securely into the layers of my leather, not yet ready to tell my troop of thieves that I was engaged to the gentlest man I’d encountered since entering Skyrim.  
“Cynric, the bloody _lockpicker,_ right?” Delvin hiccuped and I smiled to myself, still trying to hide the fact that I was nursing my second glass while he was well into his fifth. “Takes a bedlam job, easy as all hell, tries to break into the Manor and _doesn’t have a single lockpick!”_  
Karliah looked at me, her eyes wide and knowing. My anxiety had calmed some but I knew that they wanted to know where I’d been for so long, what had kept me away from the Guild for months at a time without even returning to check in.  
“Oh gods, Brynjolf’s been a right beast to deal with.” Delvin rolled his eyes and I swore even Vex nodded her head in agreement. I leaned forward, hungry for any information at all.  
“What’s wrong with him? Is he okay?” Even my voice was sounding strained again, so much for the relaxation I’d experienced in my first few hours home.  
“He’s so tense, always snapping at everyone.” Karliah’s answer felt like a dagger to the heart and I felt my hands begin to twist together nervously under the table. “First time Delvin got a letter from you, he tried to share it with Bryn, ended up in a fight. Called you a traitor and took off.”  
Nodding to myself, it was as if any emotions at all were draining out of my body, leaving me cold. My best friend, my former teacher, the first person to interest me in the Thieves Guild at all, thought that I was nothing more than a dirty traitor. He’d turned his back on me as he thought I’d done to him, forgetting all of the time we’d spent together planning and on our journeys together.  
“Where is he now?” My voice was a whisper but I didn’t want them to know how close I was to crying. They were the people I was meant to lead, friends or not.  
“Shill job.” Vex leaned over the back of her seat, her light hair reflecting the light in the most beautiful way despite the dingy darkness around us. “Think it was Windhelm.”  
“Are you leaving again?” Karliah’s voice was softer than usual and I knew that she was expecting me to disappear again. My heart was aching and I rested my head on her shoulder, thankful for the solace of nothing more than fellow thieves sharing a drink as if it was an everyday occurrence.  
Jorrvaskr was nicer, cleaner than the Flagon for sure, but there was something about the weeping walls and the raucous people in shoddy Guild armor that just exuded safety. Delvin’s nasally laugh and Vex’s eye rolls were the exact same as I’d remembered, and Vekel pestered everyone for coin as if they weren’t regulars who spent every day with him. He still eyed Tonilia over the bar when he thought that no one else was looking, warming my heart when I saw him blush merely from the sight of her. It was as if nothing had changed, we were still the cozy little family.  
Then it got quiet.  
Everyone stopped talking at once and I wondered if I’d missed something, if a courier had snuck down with an important notice or if someone had come back from a job injured. I stood up, eyes casting every direction until I saw the shadows near the door to the Cistern moving more than they should. Everyone else’s eyes were moving in the same direction as mine, no one’s hands moving to take a drink, Vekel’s fingers still on the counter top as he forgot about the coins he’d been counting.  
Leaning against the table I squinted, feeling nervousness squeeze my body as I made my way past everyone. No one was moving to take out the intruder, only serving to heighten my nerves as I stood in front of them, silently begging Karliah for an answer that didn’t come.  
“Lass?”  
My jaw fell open, the last six months of my life disappearing as soon as I heard his voice again. He emerged from the shadows and I honestly thought my legs were going to buckle under me. I saw him leaning against the doorway, each inch of his body better than the last. Seeing him brought back so many memories of stolen moments and hands covering mouths to keep moans hushed and I was aching to get close to him again despite his evident rage.  
“Bryn.” I held myself against the table, my strength wavering as he beckoned for me to follow him.  
“Let’s talk.”  
The lilt of his voice seemed so safe, so warm, and I never wanted to leave the Flagon again. I followed after him, allowing his presence to draw me in and I felt like the same foolish girl who’d admitted her feelings to him so long ago, stupidly hoping that he’d be the one that wanted me instead of -  
_Athis._ My hand flew up around my throat, covering anywhere the chain could be showing as we entered the shadowy hallway toward the Cistern. Did he know? No, I hadn’t even mentioned his name to Delvin in any of my letters, there was no way that any of them knew. My brain was screaming for me to tell him, to admit to everyone that I’d already been promised to the sweet, gentle Dunmer man who was surely patiently waiting for me at home but I couldn’t seem to do it.  
Brynjolf’s hand ghosted against my own, fingers closing around my wrist and tugging me into the storage closet. Before I could respond he’d slammed the door behind us, his body pressing mine into the wall opposite it. I kicked a bucket out of my way and my mind was flashing through all of the words I needed to say, to tell him that I met someone, that I was engaged, but they never came.  
_I’m supposed to be married soon. I have a fiance. I’m already promised to someone else._  
With my mouth hanging open stupidly I felt the first searing kiss, his hands rough as they held me still. It felt like there were no bones left in my body and I leaned into him, allowing his strong hands to hold me still as the guilt ate me alive.  
There was a nice man waiting for me back at Jorrvaskr who had no idea what I was doing. My stomach was twisting into knots and I pressed my hands into Brynjolf’s chest, needing some space from his invasive heat and the distracting feeling of his lips on mine.  
“Bryn,” I panted his name, his teeth nipping down my throat in a way that made me forget my own name, let alone the person I was supposed to be at home with planning for a wedding ceremony. “I need to tell you something.”  
“Talk while you’re undressing.”  
His growl of a voice left my knees weak as he tore open the front of my jerkin, warm lips making their way down until he was kissing right above the waist of my pants. I wound my fingers into his hair, meaning to pull his lips away from me but only managing to tug on it, urging him on.  
“We need to talk.” I groaned, his fingers sliding under my pants and letting them pool on the ground, his tongue easily slipping into the most intimate part of my body.  
“About the way you left us?” His voice was harsher than I’d ever heard it as he slid two fingers inside me, guilt and arousal battling to claim the entirety of my brain. It was too much; I’d come here for some peace and quiet from the near constant needs of the Companions but my head was spinning and I was just as anxious as I’d been before I’d arrived.  
As he stood in front of me, stripping himself of all his armor, I felt like my mouth was watering. I opened it once again, mentally berating myself for letting it get this far and _this needs to stop before you mess things up for good, Athis is a good man and -_  
Grabbing my waist and sealing my mouth against his, I felt him press unceremoniously into me. It was rough and hot and everything that I remembered and I groaned into his mouth, feeling the calloused skin of his hands pressing me into the wall. The dragon within me was awakening from the familiar feeling of his body grinding against mine, the part of me that was nothing but a predator searching for chaos overtaking the level-headed woman Athis thought he knew. I was a dragon, I had a dragon soul, and it had to be appeased, no matter how hard I tried to suppress it.  
“I know about him.” He whispered into my ear, panting as he thrust into me over and over, never relenting. My face was flushed from the sex and his admission and I wrapped my arms around his neck, clinging onto him. “I know that you’re getting married.”  
“What?” I breathed against his neck, his hips slamming shamelessly into mine, a string of slapping sounds emitting from our poor hiding spot. Looking up I saw his eyes watching me through the darkness, burning in the low light as his arm hooked my leg around his waist.  
“I know you’re engaged.” He pressed a kiss to my lips, sending waves of anxiety rolling through me. I was such a horrid person, someone who would betray the trust of someone that they cared for with someone from their past, someone who’d already broken their heart. “But you’re still mine.”  
“You made it clear I wasn’t yours.”  
“Doesn’t look like you’re his right now, does it?” He nipped at my earlobe, one hand tangling in my hair and angling my head back. “You’re still mine just as I’m still yours.”  
With an especially harsh thrust into me as if to prove his point he pushed me over the edge, my muscles squeezing and tightening around him but he was relentless, working only toward his own release. The dragon soul within me was roaring in the pleasure of finally being let loose, the gentle lovemaking I’d become used to with Athis not near enough to bring out the primal beast that dwelled within my small Mer body. His hands held me up and I leaned into him, letting his form hold the weight of my body instead of standing on one leg any longer.  
He didn’t say a word to me as he stepped away, leaving me leaning against the cold wall for support. Tossing my armor back in my direction he jerked on his pants and stepped out, a barely noticeable nod of his head telling me that he wanted me to follow.  
Taking a moment to gather myself, I let the weight of what I’d done crash around me. Athis’s ring was heavy against my bare chest, laying next to a mark from Brynjolf’s harsh mouth that definitely wasn’t going anywhere for the next few weeks. As I quieted the dragon inside of me once again I thought about what I’d done, the manner in which I’d left Athis in the middle of the night without a word and on my first night away already slept with another man, what kind of horrible person was I?  
With my armor half buckled and my boots clutched to my chest I tiptoed into the Guild Master’s chambers, knowing that Brynjolf wasn’t going to be going back to the Flagon. I could see his form sitting on the edge of the bed facing away from me and sat next to him, the inviting warmth from his body making it hard to resist the urge to lean into him once more.  
“You’re engaged.” It wasn’t a question or an accusation, simply a statement. It was amazing how different his voice had become in the few moments since he’d been gruff and harsh with me into the same calm, collected man I was used to. All I could manage was a nod, my fingers nervously tugging at a loose string on the cuff of my boot.  
“How did you know?”  
“You’re our Guild Master,” he laughed breathlessly, pushing his sweaty hair away from his face, yet he still refused to meet my gaze, “of course I kept up on what you were doing, making sure you were safe.”  
I nodded, resting my head on his shoulder as the guilt ate away at my insides. It felt wrong to talk to Brynjolf about Athis, the two parts of my life I’d intended on keeping separate until my self control had slipped and I’d let go. The part of me that was normal, the Mer, was beginning to awaken once more and the anxiety easily settled like a weight on my chest, forcing me to fight for every breath.  
“I thought you were mine.”  
His words hung between us, filling up the air until it was too tense and we were both itching to bolt for the door. His feet were shuffling against the stone floor and his face was growing so red it was encroaching on the shades of his hair, his eyes trained on the tip of his boot.  
“I thought I was too, but last I heard, I went on a job to Whiterun,” I took a deep breath, trying to push the quiver out of my voice in a sad attempt to appear composed, “I saw some of the Companions fighting a giant and decided to help, and they invited me to join them. I wrote a letter that very night to Delvin because I was so excited to tell everyone that I’d found a new place to learn, and when I finally heard back it was to learn that you called me a ‘filthy traitor’ and insisting I never returned.”  
“I was angry.”  
“You had nothing to be angry about.” The dragon was rousing once again with my anger, ready to spit fire at him if the need arose.  
“You were my partner, and you just decided to leave.”  
“I told you I’d come back!” I insisted, grabbing the front of his shirt and forcing him to meet my gaze. I was no longer shaking with fear, Athis finding out about what I’d done just a few hours earlier was the last thing on my mind, and beating the truth out of Brynjolf was top of the list. He was the one who’d told me the Guild was all or nothing, it was either your life or you were out, and he’d unilaterally decided that I was out.  
“You never warned me that when you did return it would be with a new husband in tow.” His words were venomous as he spit them at me, eyes burning into mine with a familiar anger.  
“I wasn’t looking for anyone until you told me to never come back to the Guild.”  
“So one fight and we’re done?”  
“You called me a traitor, after all I did for this Guild, after all the _work_ I put into it!”  
“You’re marrying someone else!”  
We glared at each other for a moment, both of us breathing hard after shouting so much and I recognized the tightness in my throat that could only result from an oncoming Thu’um. I was going to have to be more careful during our arguments, of which there had already been plenty in our past, if I didn’t want our underground hideout to become no better than the Dwemer ruins.  
Diving forward his lips found mine again, shocking me into silence. His hands were far gentler as they cradled my face, his thumbs resting earnestly on my cheekbones as if trying to wipe away the guilt creeping into my bones. His forehead rested against mine and he sucked in a deep breath, the intensity of his gaze heightened by the dim lighting and the way he was leaning over me.  
“I loved you.” I flinched at his use of the past tense, hating the feeling of his finger dancing along my collarbones until they hooked around the necklace, easily clasping Athis’s Band of Matrimony in his palm.  
“I loved you Bryn.” I practically crawled into his lap, my stomach squirming as he raised the ring between us, eyeing it meaningfully. I was grasping at his face, stubble scratching along my palms as I fought to draw his attention back to me instead of what he surely saw as a symbol of my betrayal. “Please don’t make me leave.”  
“You need to make a choice, lass.” The gentleness of his tone was betrayed by the finality of his words. I clung to the feeling of his skillful fingers combing my hair away from my face as if it was the last. “Them or us?”  
“That isn’t a choice I can make.”  
“Fine. Him or me?”

**Author's Note:**

> anyway it's 2020 and i'm back into skyrim again. i think i'm about a week away from going back to the kink meme. i don't know if this will get another chapter or in what direction i would take it, just felt bad about it sitting on my computer for three years.


End file.
